Cemetery Chronicles
by dusk5646
Summary: The zombie apocalypse is here. ( I'm terrible at summaries, sorry)
1. Chapter 1

The moon shone bright above the empty graveyard. Fog clung to the gravestones, giving the grass below a look as though it had been snowing. A raven flew to a shiny black, marble tombstone with gold writing that read "here lies Thomas drake, a brilliant man, brother, husband and father". Suddenly the grave shook, slowly at first but quicker and quicker until it toppled forwards, where it cracked in the center The ground trembled with the force of a hundred herds of elephants, and a mottled, grey, decomposing hand rose from the ground. It had begun.

14 miles away, John Parker sat at his parents study, flicking through an old batman comic he'd read hundreds of times. the cover was decorated with a picture of the villain Solomon Grundy. He sighed, boredom etched on his face. His pocket began to vibrate as his best friend Sam Jones called him. He pulled it out and pressed the receive button. "Hey mate, you coming to the park tonight?" John thought for a moment before replying "yeah sure I'll need to get ready first though", "okay dude but put something nice on Laura's coming out tonight". John smiled to himself and put the phone down, jumping in the shower a few moments later.

John strode out the bathroom and stopped in front of the full-length mirror. He had dark brown hair with glasses and spots. Not exactly the best combination especially when you're trying to get a girlfriend, but hey he was 15 cut him some slack. He was quite small for his age but was muscular which was heightened by his wiry frame. He put on his white Antichrist shirt and his denim jeans with black leather converse. He shouted to his mum that he was going out and closed the front door behind him.

He was smiling as he walked into the park. He could see his friends and Laura. He could always see her. His eyes were always drawn to her whenever he was around her. she was a walking angel. She had long blonde hair that was put up in a ponytail with bright green eyes and a pale complexion. But to John she was a walking heaven. He dragged his eyes away from her to see who else was out. There was Sam with his arm wrapped around his girlfriend, Megan hill. Since he had started going out with her, he had become distant with John and it was really starting to annoy him. Next to her was Dana Williams. She was talking to Laura but was secretly getting annoyed. You could see it on her face, the stony glance she gave them every couple of seconds. He stayed there for a while but it got to the point where the two of them were that far up Couples Mountain that no amount of comments trying to rescue them worked. The only thing he regretted was not spending enough time with Laura.

The next day he woke to the sound of his phone going off. His favourite song, My Chemical Romance's "welcome to the black parade" first notes played out of his iPhone. He answered it begrudgingly only to find out that it was his mom calling him to get up for school. He slowly picked himself out of bed and threw on his uniform. It was bottle green with a golden tie, which showed his status as a year 11. "Thank god" he thought, "one more year of that hell hole and it will all be over". He made himself his normal breakfast (shredded wheat and honey) and sat down with the TV on in the background. He heard some half-weird story about graves being opened last night. "What freakish idiot would do that? Show some respect for the dead dipstick".

As John rode the bus everyday he was used to seeing some weirdos on the streets of Mortville. But this was something new entirely. The man looked like he couldn't tell the sky from the floor. Every time he went to speak words didn't come out, just incoherent mumbling. He was wearing a battered old tuxedo that looked like it had been dragged through several ditches, and smelled like it too. He hobbled forwards, not quite sure of his own feet. As always John ignored eye contact and backed away from him slowly enough to not look suspicious, but fast enough to avoid the suspected druggie. As he paid for his ticket and sat down on the bus, he didn't think any more of it. Maybe if he had he would've jumped off the bus then and there but, he just sat there unaware of what was about to occur.

First lesson of the day was gym. John liked gym, mainly for the reason that most teenage boys do. To show off to whatever girls were in the nearby vicinity. The one thing that he hated about it though was the competition. Joey Adams was tall with fair hair and a jutting jaw line. He always seemed to try to compete with John but was always beaten. Year after year of this had made him bitter towards John and had lowered him towards cheating, and today was no exception. He had already tripped him twice in the running events, and grabbed his leg in swimming. When they both lined up to climb the 5 meter long rope in front of them he winked at John cockily taunting him. John gave him a smug smile. If Joey was trying to be arrogant about this, John knew that he was really terrified about this. They approached the rope together, and John stole a quick glance at Joey. He was looking high to the top of the rope and fear was wide in his eyes. John looked around and saw Laura leaning in the doorway, her beautiful green eyes fixated on him, next to her Sam, who gave him a quick thumbs up before whispering something inaudible into Laura's right ear. He allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction, the rope was his territory and Joey Adams was never going to win. He could feel it in his blood. He reached up, wrapping his fingers around the rough fabric. The gym teacher, Mr Reynolds, blew his whistle, sharp and loud. The whole sports hall exploded into noise as half of it cheered for John and half of it cheered for Joey. John was about two meters up, swinging like a monkey in the treetops, content. This was where he belonged. In his most secret thoughts he knew he didn't belong on the ground. On Flatland, Where everyone walked, the most boring method of transportation known to man. He looked down, and saw Joey struggling. He was about half a meter lower than John. They made eye contact for a few seconds before john winked at Joey, mirroring the action Joey had done to him only a few moments ago. He began to climb again, almost giving off an air of someone who had never even touched the ground. He reached the ceiling in a matter of seconds, and looked down. Joey was still struggling. In the time it took for him to scale 3 meters Joey had done about half that. He reached up searching with his hand for the bell that would end it all. His hand found the chain attached to the bell and shook it violently, so that it rung so loud it drowned out everything else. To John it sounded like victory. He slid down the rope, landing neatly on the crash mat. Joey landed next to him, contempt and jealousy gleaming in his eyes, but left John unchallenged. The crowd in front of them parted suddenly, and Laura stood there an embarrassed half-smile on her face. She walked up to John and leaning over ever so slightly, kissed his left cheek. John felt his face go red, and grinned from ear to ear. The crowd then chorused a few 'ooohs' and a few wolf-whistles were heard, but John didn't care. He had beaten Joey, he had been kissed by the girl he liked, and he had never felt happier.

Meanwhile on the other side of school Mrs Rodriguez, the school Spanish teacher, was getting ready to teach her least favorite class, year eight bottom set. She looked out of the window wondering if they would reduce her to tears this lesson. She never found out because out of the blue a pale hand smashed through the window and grabbed her, pulling her out the window. She screamed for a few seconds, and shouted some incomprehensible Spanish, before all was silent, apart from the occasional groan of some things thigh being stabbed by glass in a smashed window.

It was the end of third lesson when it happened. They marched as one single unit, a mindless horde. And hungry they were. So very, very hungry. They wanted life again, to taste its sweetness. They saw a classroom and went wild, devouring flesh bone and sinew never stopping. In mere minutes they had left the classroom nothing but upturned tables and a warm sticky red stain on the floor.

John was in food tech cooking steak when the teacher came running in. she stopped for a few seconds before screaming "everyone out!" But it was too late. They were at the door groaning, ready to feast. The mob advanced and surrounded the teacher, mauling her, biting, scratching. John couldn't tear his eyes away as his teacher was reduced to nothing before his eyes. When they were finished with her they turned on the now terrified teenagers. From the wall behind them rang the school bell. Lunchtime.


	2. Chapter 2: Small Division

John froze. Time seemed to slow down. In front of him, the horde of mindless zombies, hungry for their feast. Laura's scream brought him out of his trance. He leaned forward, grabbing a steak knife, and ran toward her. She was backed off against a corner, with three zombies surrounding her. John leapt over the table, kicking a blender at the closest zombies face in the process. He didn't look back, but heard the satisfying clunk of flesh hitting plastic. John charged forward, stabbing wildly at the middle zombie, causing it to groan and collapse on the floor. With his other hand, he punched the zombie on the left repeatedly, not doing any damage, but certainly getting its attention. In that moment of distraction john reached forward and grabbed Lauras arm pulling her away. They ran together, out the fire escape and down the flight of stairs.

As they reached the bottom however, a voice reverberated around them, causing them to startle. "If you're still alive move your asses down to the sports hall it's the last safe place". They looked at each other for a second. Then, their hands entwined, started running.

They reached the sports hall without incident, thankfully. They hammered on the first escape doors until finally a year nine opened them quickly and shut them just as fast. They looked around hoping to see something good. They were very disappointed. Of the 1200 students attending only about sixty survived. They were around the safety mats that john had been using earlier. Stood there was Mr Davies, one of the school substitutes. He had his hands on his hips and a look of his face of mild interest, like an apocalypse happened every other week. He seemed to be the one in charge. Megan, Dana and Sam had all survived, thank god, but Sam had a long graze down his cheek, and Megan seemed to be pressing something red against his thigh. They hobbled over to john and Laura and, even with the wounds he had sustained, Sam managed to pat john on the back and nod suggestively to their hands, which were still wrapped around one anothers. In turn, john nodded at Mr Davies and asked "what's he up to then?" to which Sam replied " he"s waiting for people, he says he's got a plan"

They waited there for half an hour before he started speaking. "Now as you know, something has happened. Something bad. Now I realise the streets are not safe, so I propose that you stay here. We will barricade this room, and set up some sort of guard routine. If anyone has any objections or amendments to this plan feel free to voice them now". The room was silent for a few moments before Timmy Rothwell piped up "what about our families, sir?" Mr Davies considered this for a few moments before replying "you will have four days to go home and return. Bring all the supplies you can and try to bring weapons if you can find them. Even an old table leg can make a good club. However I would consider going in groups to maximise protection". They all looked around for a few seconds, before Dana said "right I'll have to go then, them lot over there" she gestured to a pack of year 9 kids, "live near me so I might as well tag along with them". She walked off leaving Megan and Sam with John. Megan turned to Sam and looked at his bleeding leg. "I'll have to go with you won't I" Sam replied his voice pained " I guess you'll have to but first I need to ask sir if there's a first aid kit anywhere". So they left john as well, Sam leaning on Megan for support. John finally turned to Laura, whose hand he still had hold of. "Hey, err you live about 5 minutes up the road from me so… do you wanna walk down with me" Laura looked at him, then down at their hands, and nodded. "Yeah sure". They waved good bye to Sam and Megan and set off through the bright green fire escape door.


	3. Chapter 3

They almost made it without attack. Almost. But almost isn't worth the breath it takes to say it. It was a stupid mistake really, but a grave one. You see when John got the bus, he never looked out the window, I mean why would he? All he would see was houses and cars. A boring city. But even a boring city must have a cemetery, which, unfortunately for them, was right in the middle of their paths.

They were walking down cemetery drive, (which to be frank, should've given it away immediately) when Laura spotted them. She jerked back, nearly ripping Johns arm out of its socket. "What?" John cried sharply, his eyes darting around like a hawk. Laura pointed down the street, and john squinted to the horizon making out vague humanoid shapes. He swore softly, and looked around trying to find some way to escape. His eyes landed on the wall that separated the graveyard from the street."Get up!" john ordered worry resonating through his voice. Laura looked at the wall, trying to figure out how she could climb it. It was an old red brick wall with grey slabs at the top. It reached just over two and a half meters and was unblemished, with no damage that could be used as footholds. She turned to John, confusion written on her face. "And how the hell do you expect me to get up there, monkey boy?" John got down on one knee and Laura took a step back. "Steady on there, cowboy we're not even going out yet" a small chuckle emerged from Johns lips. John laced his fingers together and gestured with his head. "Come on, put your foot there and I'll push you up" he said, his eyes never leaving the shapes in the distance. Laura placed her foot in his hand and waited. John lifted with all his strength, nearly throwing her onto the wall. "And now what are you going to do Spiderman?" John turned and looked at her his eyes gleaming. This was his element, his home. He took two steps back and flung himself, his left hand snaking out in front of him. His fingers caught the edge of the slab, and he swung his leg up using his own momentum. In a manner of seconds he was perched, cat-like, in front of Laura. "Show off" she muttered, secretly trying to hide the fact she was impressed. John stuck his tongue out at her and began to crawl along the wall, Laura trailing slowly behind him.

They reached halfway before John realized a problem. A tall iron-wrought gate split the wall in two, to allow visitors to enter the graveyard. John examined it, weighing up his options. Finally, he came to a decision. They would have to climb across it. He looked back at Laura, and she looked at him. She nodded, understanding what had to be done. Her mouth became a diagonal line as grim determination took over her body. John went first, placing his feet gingerly on the gate, testing it. When he was satisfied, he leaned forward letting the cold metal take his weight. He let out a sigh of relief when it held, and began to shimmy across. Laura mimicked his actions and soon they reached the middle of the gate. A new problem arose, however when John discovered the gate was open on one side. Transferring all his strength to his arms, he allowed his body to dangle down. He began a grotesque impression of a child on monkey bars, putting one hand in front of the other. His arms screamed at him begging him to stop. He ignored the pain and pushed through the last few swings. He mounted the other side of the wall and watched, his entire being willing Laura to cross unharmed. She had reached the open gate and was trying a different approach. She wrapped her legs around the bar John had swung from, and crawled, upside down towards John. She was going to make it, John was sure of it. Then she slipped. Her legs flailing underneath her. Only her right hand still had hold of the bar, her fingers turning scarlet with the strain. John didn't even think, and threw himself off the wall, not caring for a second about his own safety. He grabbed for Laura legs. Taking the strain of her hand. He lifted her high into the air allowing her to wrap her arms around the bar. John released her and looked around, his hands balled into fists. If he was going to go down, he'd go down fighting. Not a moment too soon, because something swung toward him trying to grab him. He ducked low and rolled forward before swinging around, releasing a savage uppercut into the bottom jaw of the thing. He heard something crack and looked down to the creature. It was human, but only just. He couldn't even tell if it was man or woman. Its lower jaw hung limply where John had hit it. It flapped around wildly, giving the impression that the monster was grinning maniacally. John turned and ran, he knew there would be others coming. No time for fancy wall running, john jumped onto an old lorry and from there back onto the wall, his sense of balance working on overhaul. They crawled for ten more minutes before reaching the end. They slid off and ran never looking back.

The horde roamed aimlessly around, looking for any source of food available. They searched streets, cars anything. They were four hundred strong all different sizes and shapes. Some fat, some skinny, some tall and some small. They were five hundred meters away, blocking the way to Laura's house. "I guess you're not going home now then" John whispered to Laura. He gestured for her to follow him and took her to his house.

He opened the door with his key, and threw it on the table. "Welcome to the bat cave" John joked. Laura looked around. She was in a long pale green corridor with two white doors at the end, and a large ornate staircase with a mahogany handle. There were candle holders placed strategically along the wall. "Make yourself at home" John said, ascending the stairs. Laura followed suit and giggled when she got to the top. It was obvious which was John's room from the massive gamer poster hanging from the door. John had gone in a few moments previously, so Laura walked in after him. She stopped however when she realized John had no top on. "Err hi" John said awkwardly pulling an old batman suit over his shoulders. "Hi" Laura replied embarrassed. They both stood there, awkwardly before John mumbled "err if you don't mind I'm going to drop my pants so..." Laura blushed before retreating out the door. She heard a heavy belt cascade to the floor, before John's voice gave life to the door in front of her. "if you want, there's some clothes that might fit you in my sisters room" Laura thought for a moment before yelling back " alright, where are they?" the door opened and a freshly clothed John emerged sporting some frayed blue jeans and a grey hoodie. He pointed a little further down the hall, to a brown wooden door with a shiny silver handle. She went in and gasped. The room was covered in pictures. There was a man in his late thirties, tending to a fire with a long twig. John was sat next to him, warming his hands. He looked younger, his hair cut in a bowl-style. A girl of around nineteen was bringing firewood. Laura stopped, feeling like she was prying on John's private life. She walked over to a wardrobe, selecting things that could fit her. She found a white vest with a cross upside down covering the front, and a pair of dark tight denim jeans. She left the room and yelled, wondering where John was. "John, where are you?" a rustle came from upstairs before a yell "I'm up here!" Laura stared at the ceiling for a moment before realizing he must be in the attic. And how would I get to wherever here is?" Laura heard the clanging of a metal ladder and Johns door reopened. "Through here" he indicated to a door which Laura originally thought to be a cupboard but had a set of cold steel ladders in it. She climbed up the rungs and emerged to a massive room covering the entire house. It was divided in two down the middle length ways. The front half of the house was dedicated to a fully furnished gym, with dumbbells and various lengths of elastic decorating the walls. The other half had large shelves stocked with books from many well known authors, C.s Lewis, roald dahl, jrr Tolkien all scattered across the room. In the centre there was a plushy purple armchair with a small table and gold lamp atop it. There sat John book in hand. "Sorry, didn't know how long you were going to be" he said casually. Laura only gaped at him before gesturing all around her. "What is this place the TARDIS?!" she asked, awe dripping from her voice. John laughed. "This place is, err how to put this, my... den if you will" John answered looking around. "The gym was originally my dad's but since he's not home very often I use it" he explained "that's him there" he pointed to an old framed picture. "It showed John much younger this time, scarcely a baby. There was a small woman hugging him, with glasses and short fair hair. It was obviously his. Mother. Next to them a boy and girl about nine and six respectively. With his burly arms wrapped around them, was John's father. They all looked so happy, smiling eternally in a four-by-four frame. "Who are the others?" Laura inquired, curiosity getting the better of her. "That, (John pointed to the boy) is Kevin, my older brother, he's working for the RAF now, flying helicopters in Afghanistan". "That (he gestured to the girl) is Natalie, my sister. She's down in Africa working with little kids". John looked at the picture and his eyes glazed over for a second, reflecting on the past. Then with a small shake of his head, dispelled the dream and descended the ladder.

"You hungry?" john asked. They were once more back in the living room, this time watching old films that john had found in a box in his dads room. "Starving, whaddya got?" john paused for a moment, thinking. "There's some pizza if you want that?" Laura nodded and John went to the door. A muffled shriek stopped him dead in his reached down and grabbed his penknife, which he'd pocketed when he was getting changed. Laura was looking out the window, her eyes wide in terror. John followed her gaze and realized her fears. The horde that had been near Laura's road was now outside his house. John put a finger to his lips, and silently tiptoed out. He returned a moment later with two black, metal pistols. They were ugly things, with short stocky barrels. Laura stared at them, a mixture of astonishment and relief covering her features. John carefully took out the magazine, showing her they weren't real bullets only heavy steel ball-bearings. He handed one to her and, leaning over to her, whispered gently in her ear. "Ten rounds in the magazine pull the slide back after every shot". This was a different John to the one she had seen previously. His bright blue eyes that normally had a gentle twinkle shone with a fierce determination. His normally slouched back was ramrod straight. All his muscles were stretched taunt and when he walked, it was half-crouched, like a tiger stalking its prey. He stayed like this for ten minutes before releasing a small sigh apparently satisfied that no harm was going to come to them. Like a light being thrown he was back to his normal self. "We're safe now" he said tucking the pistol into the waistband of his trousers. "You're full of surprises, Mr Parker" Laura replied, holding up the gun. I'll explain over food" John promised. "Keep it" he said when Laura tried to give it him back "you never know when you might need it". He walked into the kitchen, avoiding the cream table in the centre.

He opened the freezer, and pulled out a margarita pizza. "Will that do?" John asked. Laura nodded, so he leaned over and threw it in the oven, lighting it in the same movement. "Bienvenue to ristorante de la john" He pretended to hold a notepad. "And what will mademoiselle have to drink this evening?"Laura giggled (which was increasingly becoming johns favourite thing in the world) and replied "some lemonade please waiter if you would be so kind". John opened the fridge and took out the required bottle. As he was pouring, he craned his neck down to the oven to check if the pizza was cooked. He gave the drink to Laura and extracted the pizza from the oven, careful not to burn himself. John divided it equally in two and sat down, giving half to Laura. "so..." Laura said, not quite sure how to start. "errr... umm well first things first, the guns? She asked holding it up. "Ah they were a twelfth birthday present from my dad" he replied through mouthfuls of pizza. "And what is that just a regular thing, for you to get guns?" she pressed. John put down his pizza and explained. "My dad works in the army, so he doesn't get to see me very often. Mum left when I was ten, and last year my sister left. From then till now I've basically been living alone. But during the summer holidays every year my dad will come home and teach me something new. He always wanted me to follow in his footsteps and join the army. So every year I learnt a new skill. Last year he taught me how to drive. The year before it was fighting. The year before that it was shooting", He gestured to the guns. "I've got these two pistols and a rifle upstairs. Does that answer all your questions? He asked. Laura thought for a moment then nodded. "Good, because it's damn boring in here. Fancy going back to the living room?" he stood up, plate in one hand drink in the other, opening the door with his foot, and left. Laura followed him and shut the door behind her.

At around half eleven, they went upstairs. John found a spare toothbrush for Laura and said "which room do you want?" She considered for a moment before saying" your parent's room" she didn't want thousands of unmoving faces watching her sleep. John showed her to the correct door before whispering to her a quiet "good night". He leaned in and brushed his lips lightly along hers, before going to his own door. He took his glasses off, and closed his eyes. He was asleep within moments.

His eyes flickered open and found his clock. It read 2:15. He reached for his glasses trying to figure out why he had woken up. He found out moments later when a soft sob echoed throughout the house. John slid out of bed and outstretched his hand, feeling for the door handle. He found it and turned it quietly, before tiptoeing into his parent's room. His eyes adjusted, and saw Laura, tears running freely down her face. "Hey you alright?" John asked silently cursing himself for asking such an obvious question. "No" she sobbed "I'm scared John, I want to know if my family is ok" John stammered for a few seconds before drawing her in and hugging her close. "It's alright they're fine" he whispered stroking the back of her head tenderly. He repeated this action for several moments before getting up to leave. Laura grabbed his forearm and whispered "please stay, I just feel safe with you around". John lifted up the covers and crawled next to her. He wrapped her in his arms, his right arm going over her stomach and his left arm snaking under her left shoulder. John kissed the top of her head, inhaling the strawberry scent of her hair. He laid back, Laura's head resting on his heart, and just relaxed.


	4. Chapter 3 pt2

"Cute couple aren't they" Megan said, watching John and Laura walk out the door. Sam nodded in agreement before replying "they wouldn't even be a couple if I hadn't said anything". Megan looked at him quizzically, so he continued. "This morning, in gym class, Laura was watching John. I'd recognize the look she was giving him anywhere. It was the look I used to give you before you said you'd go out with me. So I might have said something". Megan pulled the piece of cloth back to look at his leg wound before kissing him on the cheek and saying "good, god knows how long those two have liked each other". It took Sam a few moments to process what she said. "Hang on, you knew they liked each other and did nothing? Why?" Megan grinned slyly before answering "let's just say there was more than one rat in the race" and she wouldn't elaborate any further.

They found their way down to the nurse's office, where they knew they could find a first aid kit. Sam was using a chrome baseball bat as a walking stick. He'd found it in a cupboard of the PE storage shed, which was being raided for anything that could be used as weaponry. He sat down on the leather chair that the nurse would normally sit on and breathed deeply. The walk there had taken the strength out of him. Megan placed the first aid kit on the table next to her and got to work. "Right, first things first take of your pants" she ordered rooting around in the box. Sam complied dropping his trousers round his ankles before commenting "next time, buy me dinner first". "Right we'll need to clean the wound, bandage it up and probably give you a painkiller if they've got one" she muttered to herself, extracting the necessary items. She turned to him and patted his knee. "Leg up" she said, unwrapping an anti-septic wipe from its packaging. She quickly scanned the back of it before nodding and threw it away. "Okay, this is going to sting slightly, it's got alcohol in" she mentioned, pressing the wipe firmly against his skin. He cried out in pain, every muscle in his body tensing up. "Ok I lied, but the wounds clean now" she said, unravelling a bandage. "Grit your teeth for this one and try not to tense up, it will increase blood loss and you do not want that" she emphasized the not with a firm shake of her head. She reached around his leg winding the bandage tightly around it. Sam gasped slightly but remained calm. "Right that should stop the blood gushing out of your leg, but here are some tablets just for the pain" she said soothingly. She turned around and produced some pink pills from a little box and handed them to Sam. "Take them every four hours, three times a day". Sam threw them to them to the back of his throat before saying sarcastically "yes Dr. Hill". Megan stuck her tongue out before responding "my parents were doctors genius, you don't spend 15 years with them and pick up nothing". Sam stood up slowly, grabbing his make-shift cane. "Shall us my darling?" he asked putting on his best posh boy voice. "Why, yes my love we shall" replied Megan, joining in on the game. They linked arms and walked out the door (or in Sam's case, limped) and out of the school, leaving the school and everything that happened in it, further behind with every step.

They were walking hand in hand, when Megan stopped suddenly. "What is it?" Sam asked. Megan pulled out her phone. "It's your brother" she replied hitting the call button and placing it on speaker for Sam to hear. "Hello Megan is Sam with you?" the urgency echoing in his voice. "Yeah" she replied looking curiously at the phone. "Good. Tell him to run. Tell him to hide. Tell him to get the hell away from here. Mum and dad are dead. They're coming for me next" the line went dead. Sam stared at the phone for a few seconds, one solitary tear rolling down his face. He turned and hobbled down the street to his house as fast as his bad leg could carry him. Megan chased after him, hugging him and whispering "it's all right, it's all right" Sam buried his head in her shoulder, sobbing softly into her ginger hair. They kept walking, Sam's eyes red with tears. They rounded a corner and saw zombies, about twenty of them. Megan stopped. Sam didn't. He kept walking right into their path. At the last moment he raised his bat and swung it straight at the first few zombies. Sam used to be in the school baseball team with the nickname "Heavy Hitter". Out of the three seasons Sam had played, he had only ever missed one home run, and that was because of a broken arm. You had to feel some sympathy for those zombies. A few moments later, Megan stepped over the bludgeoned remains of what used to be a thirty year old man, his skull crumpled inwards. It was not a pretty sight. In the centre of it all stood Sam, quivering with rage. His bat was a mass of dents and fresh bloodstains. Where the bat hung in his hand, a small pool of the excess formed of the remains that were left. Megan had seen Sam like this once, and only once. Sam had always kept his anger in check apart from one occasion. On that occasion he had put his fist through a wall, smashed three windows and destroyed a door completely, ripping it off its hinges. Sam took some deep breaths, and began to cry. This tore Megan apart, seeing him like this. She ran forward wrapping him in a tight embrace. Sam took her hand and whispered in her ear, his breaths short and sharp. "Let's go then" he said turning. They kept walking, leaving Sam's massacre to be discovered by anyone.

They stood outside Sam's house, looking at the old worn down door. Sam rummaged around in his pockets for a few seconds, before pulling out a shiny, long key on a silver key chain He muttered to Megan that he would be back in a minute before slipping inside. Megan saw him in various windows searching in cupboards and closets. He emerged a few moments later with a sleeping bag and small red drawstring bag, with a strange curved lump in it. Megan saw this, but said nothing. It was probably a golf club to use as a weapon. They marched forward, occasionally stopping to let Sam catch his breath. It was a long walk to Megan's house, and was night-time before they got there. They entered the desolate house, a red light winking at them. It was Megan's mum. "Honey the hospital's been quarantined, which means that we can't get out and you can't get in. Even this phone call is technically illegal. We have to go sweetie, we love you with all our hearts" during the last sentence her voice broke, sadness echoing through the speaker. Megan sighed. She had begun to drift away from her parents, slowly seeing them less and less. She tore herself away from her thoughts, realising how selfish she sounded. At least her parents were still alive. Sam just stood there, unreadable. Megan went to the freezer and pulled out the first thing she saw. Sushi. She hastily put it back and got out some microwave meals, throwing them into the necessary appliance. As it cooked she called Sam into the kitchen, helping him to sit at the old table. The microwave pinged and Megan extracted the now steaming plastic pot. She placed in front of Sam and took a fork out of a drawer. They ate in silence, each thinking about their families. After they finished, they both went into the lounge and watched Sam's favourite film, Jumper. They didn't even get all the way through it. They just drifted into sleep, wrapped in each other times, like they had many times before, hoping the next day would be better. It was the exact opposite.


	5. chapter 3 part 3

The year nines didn't live near Dana. She didn't even know them. The truth was that she needed to get away from her friends as fast as possible. She felt so awkward and so... jealous. The awkwardness because she was now the 5th wheel, and the jealousy because of Laura. It was plain and simple. She liked John. She had liked him for around three months now, watching him, flirting with him and generally trying to get him to like her. Megan knew, but didn't say anything, to which Dana was grateful for. She sat down on the cold floor, watching the happy couple. Laura had her hand wrapped in his, just like the way she wanted hers to be. She turned away, desperate for anything or anyone to distract her from this nightmare. Her eyes landed on Joey Adams. Unlike the year nines she'd mentioned earlier, Joey actually lived near her. He even worked on the same farm as her, just 5 minutes up the road. On top of that he had a viscous looking javelin, which he carried like a spear. He'd removed his jumper and was wearing a short sleeved shirt underneath. His muscles rippled under the white fabric. Dana sidled over to him slowly. "Err Joey would you... walk me home please?" Joey glanced at her for a moment then shrugged. "Yeah sure" he said, half-heartedly. "Should we go then?" she asked. He shrugged again, before slouching off toward the bright green door, with Dana in pursuit.

They were halfway up the hill toward where they lived when Joey remember something. "Hey, Mr O'Reilly had a shotgun, didn't he?" Dana nodded. It was common knowledge that he had guns, and had showed that he knew how to use them whenever trespassers appeared on his land. "Didn't you work on his farm?" Joey asked. Again Dana nodded. "Do you think he'd let us stay with him?" This time Dana shrugged. "Well then, let's go ask if he will". Joey marched forward, and then shrieked. He bolted up the hill, leaving Dana stood, confused as to what was happening. She turned to see ten zombies lumbering up to her slowly. She began running backwards, trying to keep the group in her sights. That's when she tripped over a tree root, flying back and smacking her head off the ground. The lead zombie approached her slowly, taunting her. Saliva dribbled from its trembling lips as it imagined what it would be like to taste the sweet flesh. It raised its grey lifeless hand getting ready to strike down, to kill its prey. Dana closed her eyes, waiting for the cold swipe of death to take her. A warm spray danced across her face, and the stench of blood enveloped her. But she didn't feel anything. No agonizing pain of her intestines being ripped out, no zombie moaning in ecstasy as it chomped on her bone. Nothing. She opened her eyes to see the surprise of her life.

The zombie was dead. Well, more dead than before. It had four long lightly hooked spikes sticking out of its chest and a vacant expression on its face. It should've fallen back, but whatever was impaled through it had wedged, holding it upright in a macabre impression of a puppet. Dana tried to stay conscious. She really did. But the darkness came for her regardless, buckling her knees and collapsing her to the ground.

She awoke in a dimly lit room, with a blonde haired, muscular boy cleaning a pitchfork of blood. "Ah, you're awake" he said, putting his pitchfork down so that the points faced Dana. She looked at it for a moment before putting two and two together. "It was you!" she screamed, eyes darting from the boy to the weapon. The boy simply nodded. "But...how, you weren't even near me when that thing was chasing me?" Dana asked, trying to remember the last seconds before she fainted. There was definitely no one around her. The boy chuckled before replying proudly "I've been told that I've got a pretty good throw with one of these things" he smiled. Dana stared, wide eyed and opened mouthed at him. "The names Leo, by the way, Leo O'dare" he said, tipping an imaginary hat to her. "I already know your name, Dana, so at least now we're acquainted properly". "Wait, what?! How do you know my name?" Leo smiled, and then explained. "Two reasons. Number one: I think that you know a Joey Adams, the kid that was shouting your name about 20 minutes ago, when you were giving off the Z's?" It was Dana's turn to smile. "And reason two?" she asked. "Really? You've worked here for 6 years, and you still don't recognize me?" Dana stared for a moment, before realizing with a start that she did know him, before feeling ashamed she hadn't recognized him earlier. It was the boss's nephew. She cursed herself for being so stupid. He was always using that old pitchfork, clearing out crap from the barn.

"Right young Lady, I think we ought to be getting you somewhere safe, doesn't you? Your friend mentioned that they've done something with the school?" Dana nodded. "When we left, they were planning on barricading it up, but it's not for three days yet". "Two" a voice corrected her from the door. Joey stood, leaning against the frame. Dana thought she saw a flicker of concern in his eyes, but when she blinked it was gone, replaced with the usual scowl. She looked out the window, seeing the sunrise, "Jesus, how long was I out?" Dana asked. "Sixteen hours straight, you had us worried for a while" Leo informed her. "I've already got your stuff and my stuff from our houses" Joey told her, dropping an orange and black rucksack, which she vaguely recognised as her own, next to her feet. "There was a note left from your parents, I packed it in there" he told her, gesturing to the bag as he did so. "You broke into my house?!" she asked incredulously. "Nope, I got the key that I've seen you leave under the plant pots" He responded, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "S-s-s-seen?" Dana stuttered. "Have you just been spying on me?" she asked. "Ask questions later, when we actually have time to" Leo interrupted; opening a door to Dana's left. "Now I know I'm not exactly best mates with you guys, but is there any way I can come with you?"

Dana and Joey considered silently for a moment before responding simultaneously: "Yeah sure!" "No way". Joey was quicker to reason, talking as if Leo wasn't even there. "He can't come with us; he'll just be another mouth to feed and a leech on precious resources!" Dana stood there, horrified with what he'd just said. "You vile, selfish little excuse of a man! He's human, just like you. In fact, he's even better than you! I didn't see you running to help me when that thing attacked me" Joey gaped for a moment with his mouth poised to say something, but the look in Dana's eyes warned him about unspeakable pain if he did. "Fine" he dared bravely "But I'm not going to help him in any way, he wanted to come so if anything happens to him, it's his fault". "Okay" Dana agreed reluctantly. Joey said he wouldn't help him, but others would. "Go and get your stuff then, we'll wait for you at the front door, we promise" she said to Leo, glaring at Joey when she promised him. Leo smiled before ascending a set of stairs. Joey and Dana both listened until the thuds stopped, indicating he had reached the top. They rounded on each other, furiously. "He stays" Dana said firmly, trying to dismiss the subject. Joey considered, before replying smarmily "okay, but what happens if the others don't want him?" Dana tried to think of something to reply with, but nothing came to her. "Exactly" Joey tormented, smirking. "Once we get back, say sayonara sweetheart, he won't be around for long". A series of thuds coming from the stairs indicated it was the end of the conversation. "We going then?" Leo asked eagerly, a wide grin on his features. "We're going" Dana confirmed.

As they were walking out the farm, Leo stopped. "Hang on, I've got an idea" he said, scrabbling around in his pockets. "Aha!" he declared triumphantly. He waved around an old rusty key, before veering off towards the barn. "Stay there, I'll be back in a moment" he stated, before vanishing into the barn. "Hurry up!" Joey barked harshly. "You'll thank me after this" Leo's voice rang from the barn doors. He emerged a few moments later, carrying a long scythe and a hooked sickle. "Why would I thank you, from the looks of it you're trying to start a communist party" Joey joked, contempt laced in his words. "Ha-ha, I'm so amused" Leo countered, sarcasm laced as evenly. "Here" Leo offered, holding the sickle to Dana. She looked at it for a moment, before nodding. "And for you, if you want it" Leo held the scythe out for Joey, who eyed it up and down, before taking it reluctantly. "Sorted then" Leo said. They turned and as one, walked out of the farm and back to school.


End file.
